


Blood(march) is Stronger than Water

by Ludella



Series: Tumblr Drabbles/Requests [3]
Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Coming Out, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Transitioning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-10 06:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11686194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludella/pseuds/Ludella
Summary: To the outside, Lucien is a stubborn, coldhearted teenager without any respect for authority or tradition, and Damien is an eccentric lunatic.They both know each other better than that--they're all each other has.Collection of drabbles/requests from tumblr about the Bloodmarch family bonding and being happy together.





	1. Grieving Lucien's Other Father

**Author's Note:**

> all these are requests from my tumblr!

****Lucien’s seven when he gets pulled out of school for the first time, and he can’t hear what any of the teachers are saying. They’re just around the corner, speaking in hushed whispers that he can’t decipher, and part of him doesn’t want to know anyways. They said his dad is coming soon, and he likes him better than _any_ of the teachers here, so he’s just happy to get out of school early.

The door to the office practically slams open as his father rushes in, and Lucien perks up immediately. “Dad!”

The smile Damien gives him is an expression he’s never seen before, too complicated for his young mind to begin comprehending. So he brushes it off and jumps out of the chair, waiting for his dad to sign him out of school before he grabs his hand and they’re walking outside.

But the moment the school doors close behind him, Damien falls to the ground in front of him and pulls Lucien close to his chest. “Dad?”

“Lucien… oh, god, baby…” His father’s hold on him is tighter than usual, but the hand stroking through his hair is familiar and nice. Unaware of what to do, Lucien wraps his arms around his father’s back and returns the embrace. It’s then he finds his shoulders are shaking–his father’s entire body is shaking.

“…dad? Are you okay?”

He hears him inhale, but he can’t hide the sound of a few sobs racking his body. “Dad’s… dad’s okay, baby, but…”

Damien pulls away, holding Lucien by his shoulders, and the boy pales at the sight of his father’s tear streaked face.

“Let’s get home, alright?”

The drive is quieter than Lucien is used to, so he doesn’t say anything else as well. He’s happy to be out of school, since that’s stupid and boring and his papa says he’s too smart for it anyways, but he can tell something is wrong. His father sniffles a few times on the way back and turns his head to the window so Lucien won’t see, until he finally just reaches across the space between him and waits for Lucien to hold his hand. He does.

Damien takes him inside once they’re home and doesn’t let go of his hand until they’re in the kitchen and Lucien sits down, waiting for his dad to finish unpacking his uneaten lunch box. “Did something bad happen, dad?” he asks, making himself small in his seat. It doesn’t occur to him until now, but he can’t help but wonder if _he’s_ the one who’s in trouble here.

His father comes to stand in front of where Lucien is sitting on the couch and takes a seat beside him, an arm around his shoulders. “Lucien… you know papa has been sick for a very long time.”

He nods.

The sad look returns to Damien’s face, and they simply sit in quiet for a few full minutes until he squeezes his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Lucien… but papa… he passed away today. He won’t be coming home anymore.”

The tears start right back up again, and Damien has to stop to wipe his face and allow a few sobs to escape his throat.

He doesn’t let go of Lucien the entire time. “You know papa loves you more than anything else, right? He loved you so much, Lucien.”

“As much as you do?”

He squeezes his shoulder. “Just as much.”

Lucien squirms. “Are you sad, daddy?”

The small whisper makes Damien’s face drop, crumpling into a look of pain he’s only seen on other children after they’ve been hurt and begin to cry. But his dad doesn’t start wailing and brings Lucien into another hug instead, petting his back. “Daddy’s _so_ sad, Lucien. I’m going to be very sad for a long time–and it’s okay if you are too. Even if papa’s gone, your dad is right here for you no matter what, Lucien.” A kiss is pressed into his forehead. “Dad loves you _so_ , so much.”

Slowly, little arms come up to hold his father as well.

Lucien knows what death is.

He knows what it means to die.

But he doesn’t understand what it means for his dad to die–or if it was even possible. Seeing his strong, happy father cry like this, though, gives him an idea he’s not too comfortable with.

He doesn’t know what he’s feeling, but he can tell his father is sadder than he is.

“I’m here for you if you’re sad too, dad,” he whispers. “You’ve always got me, even if papa’s gone…?”

Damien’s arms around him tighten, and he cries openly and unabashedly.

Lucien doesn’t cry until he crawls into his father’s half-empty bed that night, and they hold onto each other for dear life throughout the night.


	2. Damien Gushing about his Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Whenever you have time could you do Lucien being happy at how excited Damien is about his relationship with Dad since I imagine he hasn't had the best time with relationships? "

Lucien is awake when Damien quietly sneaks back into the house late at night, waiting in the living room with a bowl of popcorn and watching TV. Usually he’d be huddled up in his room at this time of night, but he decides to stay downstairs near the front door because, well, he just wants to, okay?

They meet eyes when Damien enters, and he sees the grin on his father’s face quickly school into something more refined and mature as he strolls into the living room and sits on the chair beside his. “Well?” Lucien asks with a full fist of popcorn in his mouth.

“Well what?”

He rolls his eyes and continues watching TV. “How was the date, dad?”

Damien is fidgeting with the chain of his pocket watch out of the corner of his eye. Lucien knows how badly he wants to speak, and it’s just a matter of time before the dam breaks loose. “Oh, it was fine…” he begins casually, the smile on his face literally twitching with the urge to split into a wide grin. “We went to another movie.”

“Mmhm.”

“It was like the first one, a scary movie.”

“You went to _another_ scary movie after almost pissing your pants the first time?”

Damien scowls for just a moment. “Lucien, language! But yes, we did, since…” Here it comes. His father is in a state of maximum fidget and averting his eyes around the room. Lucien knows he’s trying to seem cool and composed in front of his son, as if he hasn’t seen his father at his most embarrassing moments.

He prompts him further, staring at the TV to seem still somewhat disinterested. “Since what?”

“He wanted to hold my hand the entire time!” Damien hands slap over his face, hiding the red that spreads over his cheeks. His feet come up onto the chair momentarily as he simply squirms in _delight_. “He used it as an excuse to hold my hand the whole movie! But I didn’t want him to feel like he was doing all the wooing, you know? So partway through I let go and put my arm around his shoulders because, like, that’s what they do in books, but they don’t talk about when the other person actually leans into you and stays there and kiss–”

Damien finally cuts himself off as if he’d just realized how much he’d said. Sure, it’s more than Lucien wants to hear about his father’s love life, but it’s the first time he’s been this happy since the remodeling of the house–no, since his grade school graduation–no, Damien hasn’t been this happy in a long time.

Lucien hides a smile as he takes another bite of popcorn, only glancing at his dad occasionally. “So… what, you snogged in the theaters? Which one, I don’t wanna accidentally sit in it.”

“No! Well, a little, but who wasn’t, in there? But on the walk home, you know, we…”


	3. Damien Gets Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "you opened your inbox, you got the bloodmarch family. if/when you want to, maybe more hurt/comfort stuff? but this time Damien gets hurt but he's okay because I don't want my boy to have any permanent damage!!"

 

One of his teachers was called out into the hallway earlier that day, and when they came back to class, they kept glancing at Lucien in the back of the class. He knew something was wrong immediately, and thought he had been caught for some vandalism or prank he did a while ago.

The reality was much worse. He was pulled aside after class to find Mr. Vega in the hall who explained there had been an accident and he would have to go home with him and Ernest once school finished in an hour or so. Lucien tried demanding to go to wherever his father was, but was denied, though Hugo promised he would drive him if need be later on.

Now is later. It’s odd to be alone with Mr. Vega when Ernest isn’t present, but they silently agreed the other would be best off taking care of the dogs at home instead of tailing along. The hospital his father is currently at is a twenty minute drive from where they are originally, and although he pretends to be busy on his phone, Lucien’s a nervous wreck.

Hugo already disclosed what all he knew, which was simply the words ‘accident at work.’

His mind jumped to the worst scenarios.

Hugo tries explaining that it’s a good thing his father has been checked in as an outpatient, but Lucien doesn’t understand what it means and walks briskly through the hospital ahead of the other.

His dad’s never gotten hurt before–not seriously, really.

Lucien has, all the time, and Damien took care of his sorry, stupid ass each and every time. The idea that his dad wasn’t invincible and was, as childish as it seemed, _mortal_ , came as a great shock to him. One that won’t be eased until he sees what state he’s in.

Their eyes meet as soon as Lucien opens the door.

Damien immediately jumps out of the bed he’s on, not even smiling his usual goofy grin. “Lucien!” He’s in his work clothes, as expected, and it makes Damien look all the more vulnerable and uncomfortably weak as Lucien hated.

When the man is in front of him, he reaches for his son, and Lucien holds his hands out to stop him–because his arm is pulled up in a cheap, papery sling.

He’s actually hurt.

“I’m alright,” Damien reassures, grabbing his shoulder with his good hand, “I just tripped and broke my collarbone, it’s nothing serious!”

Nothing serious? It’s an entire bone, broken! For the first time his entire life, his father, who rarely ever was sick, has actually become injured and was at risk of… of possibly–well, worse!

“Lucien.”

He looks up at his face to find his father staring at him intensely, a small smile on his lips now. Lucien didn’t realize until then he hasn’t been schooling his expressions, and probably appeared horrified. It’s true, but he doesn’t want to show that same vulnerability to his father.

With one arm, Damien loops a hand to Lucien’s back and pulls him into a one sided hug that he gently returns for merely a second before pulling back. 

_What if you died?_

_You scared me._

_Do you know what that was like?_

_What if something worse happened?_

_What would I do without you?_

_What would I do without you?_

On second thought, Lucien takes another step forward and briefly wraps his arms around his father’s middle, hugging him tightly (while paying mind to his injury).

“I’m sorry for scaring you, son.”

Lucien doesn’t say a word the entire time; he’s too absorbed in appreciating each second with his father that he has.


	4. After Damien's Top Surgery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "could you write lucien helping damien recover after getting top surgery?"

When Damien wakes up from a nap in the hospital, the first thing he sees is Lucien.

Which is surprising, considering he took their only car to the hospital and left him at home. It takes a few minutes for him to actually come to, and Lucien looks up when he notices his father moving.

“You up, dad?”

“Lucien…” Damien makes a move to sit up and is stopped by his son as the teenager reaches down and presses a button on the side of the bed, slowly reclining the mattress so he’s more elevated. “What are you doing here? I told you I’d be home tomorrow–and I took the car!”

Lucien shifts in his seat uncomfortably, and only then does Damien notice there are a few books and notebooks at his feet and on the other’s lap. “You said tonight,” he begins quietly, staring down at a book in his hand instead of making eye contact, “but then changed it to tomorrow.”

“It’s just high blood pressure–the surgery went without a single hitch, don’t worry about a thing.”

“I’m not–but Ernest’s dad drove me.”

‘I wasn’t worried’ is an obvious lie that Damien has spent years learning how to pick up on. No doubt his son had been worried when he found out the surgery which was supposed to only take a few hours would keep him overnight. Without the car, he didn’t even have a way of getting here, and went so far as to actually _ask an adult for help_. Damien couldn’t be more proud.

He points at the notebook placed by his foot. “Is that homework?”

Lucien scoffs. “It’s better than sitting here and watching you sleep.”

Damien leans over to grab it, though he quickly regrets the action and visibly winces. Instead of yelling at him for touching his stuff, Lucien stands and pushes his shoulders so he’s resting back against the bed. Damien offers his thanks. 

“What are you studying now?” he asks as the younger sits halfway on the side of the bed with the notebook in hand, flipping through it. He peers over his shoulder to see his notes, given they aren’t turned away from him, and smiles at the dark doodles in the margins. There’s still notes, though–Lucien is talented in school when he tries.

“Just Java.” he murmurs, slowly leaning back more against the bed.

“Java? What did you do your first year of programming?”

“Arduino.”

Damien sighs, more for show than anything, as he’s secretly incredibly pleased to be holding a conversation with his son. By now Lucien has gradually climbed entirely into his father’s hospital bed and is sitting beside him, going through his notes together. At first it’s just Damien looking over what he’s written and commenting on it, but Lucien gradually opens up and begins asking questions that, thankfully, Damien has all the answers to.

When a nurse comes in and tells Lucien he can’t sleep in the patient’s bed with him, he looks like he wants to argue but sheepishly climbs out upon Damien’s prompting.

The moment the door closes again, though, Damien scoots over and pats the space beside him.

It’s the first time they’ve slept together in over eight years, probably, although Lucien stays on the edge of the bed with his back turned. Damien can’t sleep on his side, unfortunately, and he struggles to get any rest in a position that won’t hurt his newly scarred chest. Despite this, he’s completely pleased.

It might be the best day he’s had in a long time.


	5. Lucien Beats Kids Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A young Lucien getting suspended because he kicked a kids butt for making fun of his dad"

“ _Lucien_ ,” Damien sighs as soon as the car door closes, hand rubbing his temples in frustration. He’s trying to keep his cool, and it’s not too difficult–he’s simply tired of coming to school and picking up his son for trouble. This is the second time this week, and now he’s suspended. Lucien climbs into the passenger seat with his arms crossed. “Will you please tell me what happened now?”

“The principal already did,” he mumbles.

“The principal told me you beat up three upperclassmen behind the school.” Damien drags his hand down his face. “She didn’t tell me _why_.”

Knowing it’ll be a while before Lucien opens up, he goes ahead and begins the drive back home. He’ll be home for a week now, and while Damien knows he’ll have to place his own punishments and restrictions on his son, he doesn’t want to think about it now. This is probably the worst thing Lucien’s done–he’s played pranks, vandalized property, and threatened to do stuff like this, but never had he actually harmed anyone.

Damien got a look at the other three students; they were pretty bad off. Lucien himself got away with a black eye and a couple of scratches that were already treated, while one of the seniors had his nose broken.

They’re nearly to the cul-de-sac when the teen speaks up.

“They were making fun of you,” Lucien says, voice so quiet Damien thinks he imagined it.

“What?”

“Those kids were saying some mean things about you that I–didn’t want to hear. It was all bullshit, anyways, and they told me to do something about it… so I did.”

It’s one of Damien worst fears realized–the idea that any of his eccentricities might affect Lucien himself. The teen isn’t goth, but he understands and appreciates it deep down. He’d tell his father so when he was younger. But now, children are more judgemental, and Damien can’t help but feel partially guilty for his son’s alienation. 

Lucien keeps speaking. “…are you mad?”

“Huh? No, Lucien! I… thank you, for standing up for your father, but…”

But what? As he thinks on it more, the situation expands in Damien’s mind. Lucien went out of his way to stand up for his father against teenagers who didn’t even know him. He hadn’t been bullied or fighting for himself–it was for _him_. The thought is not only endearing, but… he feels proud.

Damien reaches across the console to grab his son’s hand for a small, brief squeeze, and sends him a smile without taking his eyes off the road. “I can’t approve of you physically harming other students, Lucien. But I understand you.”

“You do?”

Damien nods. “One time a neighbor made fun of you to my face, you know.”

Lucien’s arms gradually loosen and fall to either side, no longer shielding himself as he becomes invested in what his father has to say. “…so what happened?”

“Why do you think that house in our cul-de-sac is up for sale?”

The car falls silent.

And Lucien is unable to hold back a ghoulish, high pitched snicker, hiding his face towards the window. 

Damien’s heart swells; it’s been a long time since he heard that stupid, squeaky laugh. “…I’m kidding of course.”

“Yeah, no shit!”


	6. Lucien Comes Out As Trans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know this isn't something Canon or anything but what if Lucien is or comes out as trans as well? (THE WORLD JUST NEEDS MORE DAMIEN AND LUCIEN BONDING) so maybe Lucien coming out?"

**im bound by blood to write any and all bloodmarch family fic**

It’s a normal dinner for the two of them, meaning Damien fills most of the silence with talk about something or other while Lucien pretends he doesn’t care. He actually listens most of the time, though he’ll never show it, but tonight’s different. There’s more on his mind this evening, and evidently his father knows him better than he thought as Damien remains quiet, as if waiting for him to speak.

“Hey, dad,” Lucien finally starts after a good five minutes of silence. He doesn’t look up from his plate. “When did you know you were man?”

Damien, positive they had this conversation before, turns the question over in his mind. “Young, probably around fourteen. I didn’t start transitioning until I was nineteen, though–why do you ask?”

And it’s quiet once again. Damien enacts his number one fathering policy of ‘never push’ and lets the other sit in silence for as long as he needed.

“I think I am, too.”

“Is that right?”

Neither of them are surprised by each other’s words, but Lucien keeps his head down all the same. There’s still more to be said and done; if anyone knows how this goes, it’s Damien himself. 

Still not pushing, he reaches across the table, hand hovering over Lucien’s for a moment before covering it. “Son,” Damien begins, and the word gains his attention immediately. He gives his hand a gentle squeeze. “Whatever you want, whenever you want it, we’ll make sure you have everything you need, alright? Your happiness is the most important thing to me, and you _know_ I’ll always love you more than anything in the world.”

They’re a lot of words and a lot of emotions he knows his child, his _son_ hates to hear, uncomfortable with talk of feelings, but they’re words he needs to hear. He watches as Lucien fidgets and bites his lip, worrying it between his teeth.

“…Lucien.”

“Hm?”

“I… want to be called Lucien.”

It’s as if the conversation finally becomes real at that moment, and Damien is caught off guard. His son is staring away from him across the table, nervous. Damien can feel pinpricks stinging the backs of his eyes, and he gives the hand in his another squeeze. “Lucien Bloodmarch–it rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?”

Lucien nods, meeting his father’s eye for a moment before looking back down. “Thanks… dad,” he says in an uncharacteristically small voice, and from where Damien is sitting he can just barely make out the tiny, pleased smile on Lucien’s face. Lucien–his one and only most beloved son.

“I’m proud of you, son.”


	7. [Old Requests Compilation]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> these are the other bloodmarch reqs that i included in my other ddadds drabble chap, so quick succession!!!

  * **"if you like can you maybe write Lucien and Damien having some soft father son bonding time? ;; im a sucker for those relationships"**



“Hold still, dammit.”

“Don’t curse, Lucien, it’s unbecoming of a young man. And I’m nervous, dammit!”

Lucien can tell. His father is practically bouncing up and down in his seat, and has been for the past hour as they worked on getting his look together. So far, all they have done is his outfit (picked out the night before) and painted nails. Lucien has to keep batting at his face to stop Damien from chewing on them.

Lucien has his hands buried in his father’s hair, weaving it around his fingers in complicated patterns that he just ‘picked up’ from nowhere in particular. Damien asked him to clear his schedule for today (as if he was actually doing anything) for help, and the simple actions he has his son do lead Lucien to believe he’s really just here for emotional support.

He still stays, despite that.

“Do you think it’s too much?” Damien mumbles, looking at the single braid his son is weaving on the side of his head.

“If it wasn’t too much, would it still be you?” Lucien chuckles and although he meant for the comment to be snarky, it comes out more fond than he hoped and causes Damien to laugh nervously.

“You got it from me, you know.”

Lucien hums as he finishes the braid, clipping it in place as he moves to start on a symmetrical one on the other side of his head. “Yeah,” he mutters, “I got everything from you.”

Their eyes meet in the mirror and he allows a rare smile to appear. He can see the change in Damien’s form take place instantly as his tense shoulders relax and his smile widens back. The moment Lucien places a hand on his shoulder, Damien’s comes up to cover it. “Thank you, Lucien.”

* * *

 

  * **"if youre still taking requests could you maybe write damien comforting 5 yr old lucien after a nightmare?"**



Damien doesn’t sleep in a coffin like his neighbors think he does, but his bedroom door opening to a light-filled hallway at 12AM feels something similar to the lid being removed from his casket. Thankfully, he isn’t asleep yet and isn’t woken up by the small figure standing in his doorway, sniffling pathetically.

A fond smile easily stretches across his face. “Lucien, what’s wrong?”

He sets his book down on the bedside table as the child slowly teeters into the  room with his face down. Even from here Damien can see his puffy red eyes and has to wonder how long the boy sat by himself in his room before he decided to come bother him. “I had a bad dream,” Lucien whispers as if Damien had been asleep, and the meaning isn’t lost on him as Damien feels his chest swell up in endearment.

“Climb on in, my petit prince.”

As soon as he pulls the cover back on his bed, Lucien is scrambling to get up onto the bed and curls into his father’s side immediately. His small arms grab the shirt over his middle tightly, knees to his chest in the fetal position. Damien immediately has both of his arms around his son and pulls the boy closer to his chest.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“You went with papa.” Damien’s blood runs cold at his words. Lucien’s father had passed away just last year. He’d thought Lucien too young to understand the concept of death–and he is, in a way–but they’ve both been struggling with the loss in their own ways.

His hold on the boy tightens ever so slightly. “That’ll never happen, dearest–daddy’s always gonna be right here with you, okay?”

Lucien nods, and evidently, that’s all the reassurance he needs. His son is asleep in a matter of seconds, snoozing quietly on Damien’s bicep, and it takes no shortage of acrobatics to reach over and turn off the lamp without disturbing him. When Damien is finally able to settle down, he presses a kiss against Lucien’s head. A little voice whispers, “Love you, dad.”

He can’t help but nuzzle into the top of his son’s hair, smile so wide and heart so full of love he can hardly contain it. “I love you too, baby.”

* * *

 

  * **"perhaps something halloween or generally spooky themed, with damiens fear of horror and lucien either having to awkwardly help his dad out or also getting spooked himself?"**



****“You holding up, dad?”

“Oh, Lucien, don’t vex your father so,” Damien sighs, as though he isn’t holding his son’s arm for support. He claimed it was so he wouldn’t get lost, and Lucien doesn’t say anything. In the darkness of Brian’s homemade haunted house (show off) nobody else can see them, so there isn’t any harm.

Plus, watching his dad lose his mind over cheap pop-up scares is pretty fucking funny.

Another skeleton falls out of a panel on the wall and Damien promptly squeaks and yanks Lucien out of the way, still trying to ‘protect’ his son despite his obvious fears. Lucien appreciates the effort, but snickers anyway, earning a half-hearted smack on his shoulder from his father.

“Come on, it’s almost ov–”

Damien bumps into Lucien when the teen stops in the middle of the hallway, frozen. “Oh, what’s that?” he asks, looking over his son’s shoulder at a set up of props at the end of the hallway. It’s the first area to be well lit, with a number of flowers surrounding a few picture frames and an old looking doll on the table. “A mourning doll, how interesting! Though it does appear to be a regular child’s toy set up in place of a real grave doll, since they’re usually not the full body, but-”

As Damien lets go of his son and steps forward to inspect the set up, Lucien immediately reaches out and takes a handful of his sleeve for a change. It earns him a surprised look, though Damien does stop to turn around.

“Lucien? What’s the matter?”

He takes a small step to shuffle behind him. “Just, uh, I’ve been walking in front this entire time… you should go first.”

Damien raises his brows but says nothing else, nodding as he started walking forward once again. There’s no smaller jump scares for the rest of the hallway, thankfully, given he would have to turn around and hold onto his son deliberately if so.

“Would you look at that,” Damien hums as they finally reach the stand with the doll, leaning forward to inspect it. Lucien stays a few steps back with his arm outstretched to hold onto his father’s cuff. “It’s certainly not an actual grave doll, but is very well made–”

As soon as the doll’s mouth opens and screams, the two of them shriek, jumping back a mile to hold onto each other before doing a Bloodmarch specialty–turning around and running the fuck away. Lucien holds onto his father’s shirt the entire way out, and as soon as they get a breath of fresh air, he lets go.

They do chuckle on the walk home, though, saying nothing else.


	8. Lucien Gets Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Since we're already on the topic of Lucien and Damien, maybe we can get a lil bit of angst? :0 Maybe Lucien gets seriously hurt and Damien freaks out... There isn't really much content like this for them and I'm curious about how it would go haha Thank you!"

So it was probably a mistake to let an eighth grader try and drive his car.

Lucien reflects on the bet they made a few hours ago that Ernest somehow actually won, and his excitement at being able to try driving. Lucien had accompanied him in the passenger seat to teach him, but it didn’t help much.

In the end they’re still left with a totaled car and Lucien in the hospital, leg broken and the rest of him pretty banged up as well.

If it were anything else, like an arm or rib he broke, Lucien would be up and leaving as soon as he could. There’s no way he can stay here, he doesn’t want to, not when he knows the hospital has already called his father and at any moment–

“ _Lucien_!”

He clenches his eyes shut and grits his teeth, waiting for the inevitable scolding to come. His dad is more of a pushover than others, but even he wouldn’t excuse this. “Look, dad, it–”

The wind is knocked out of him before he can finish speaking as Damien crowds around his bed, pulling Lucien by his shoulders into his chest. His hands are still gentle, afraid to harm him, and cradle the back of his head with one while the other smooths up and down his back. Despite his age, it is still… comforting, admittedly.

“Oh, god, Lucien…” Damien mumbles with his mouth pressed into the crown of his head. “They called me at work, I thought my heart had stopped completely…”

Lucien doesn’t know what to do with his hands. Or any other part of his body. He remains completely still and allows his father to hold him for lack of any better response. He’s about to push him away when he grabs his shoulder and finds– “You’re shaking, dad…”

“Of course I am!” It’s the first time Damien’s raised his voice at his son in forever, but there’s no malice behind it. “I was so, so afraid… I just heard there was an accident, and I… Lucien, I’m so glad you’re alright…”

He’s not really completely alright. His leg is broken, his hip is injured, he has no shortage of cuts and bruises along the rest of his body, and his head is hurt as well. Ernest, on the opposite side of the crash, walked away with only a few scratches. For the first time since the event, Lucien allows himself to think about it. His heart picking up as he realizes another car is on the road. Trying to get Ernest to steer the other way.

Lucien feels his shoulders begin to shake, and he brings his arms up tentatively to wrap around his father’s back. “…I’m sorry, dad.”

“Don’t be sorry, Lucien-”

“I was so scared.”

Seeing his own blood covering his hands. Unable to hear anything over the ringing in his ears. The sound of an ambulance, once he could. Lucien has never been in such a serious situation before, and the entire time, he was terrified.

And he lets it come loose, now safe for the first time since the crash in his father’s arms. He doesn’t try and hide the sobs that rack his body, and he feels Damien freeze up in surprise alone. It doesn’t matter. He can’t hold it back, not anymore. 

He’s still a kid.

Damien runs his hand up and down his back comfortingly, shushing in his ear like he did when Lucien was a tot. “It’s okay, it’s alright now, Lucien… dad’s got you, and he’s not going anywhere.”

In the hospital room where only the two of them are, Lucien gives his pride a pass for one day. He holds his father as tightly as possible as he cries into his shoulder, lulled by the sound of sweet assurances and support in his ear.

“I love you, Lucien, don’t worry… don’t worry, dad won’t let anything hurt you anymore… let it out, hon. I’ve got you, now.”


	9. Damien Gets Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'd really love to see like Lucien at Damien's wedding if you're still taking requests? Choose which ever dad you want man I trust your judgement"

****They argued over who would be Damien’s best man for weeks.

Lucien didn’t understand why he was even up for consideration, given he was his _son_ and not a friend. Robert’s daughter is attending the wedding, and she isn’t any kind of maid of honor–she is just part of the wedding party. Like Lucien wants to be.

But Damien insists, and when he one day kneels on the floor in front of him and all but begs Lucien to stand by his side at the altar, he can’t turn him down.

He hasn’t worn a suit since his father’s funeral years and years ago, and he’d been a tiny kid then. The good news is that he doesn’t have to go pick out a new tuxedo. The bad news is that it’s because Damien decides to have his side of the party decked out in full Victorian.

It could be worse, he supposes. But it’d be much better if he just wasn’t the fucking center of attention up there!

“Ready, kiddo?” Mary says, putting her hand on his shoulder as she walks up from behind him. “You’ve got the biggest job around here.”

Lucien sighs. “Yeah. I know.”

As the wedding planner gives the cue, Mary slaps his back and proceeds down the aisle, locked in arms with one of Damien’s other close friends from work. Damien was ecstatic to learn Robert chose her as his best woman, as Lucien understood she meant the world to both of them. He didn’t really see it, but that doesn’t matter now. 

“Lucien?” He turns back at the sound of his father’s voice, finding him standing at the bottom of the church stairs. He’s done up to his best, a full face of makeup, Victorian suit cinched at the waist and buttoned under his chest, the coattails dragging on the floor in lieu of a cloak.

He also looks about to puke.

“You look wonderful, son, really–everyone else looks fine, don’t they?”

Lucien walks down the stairs and yanks his father close by his elbow, linking them together. “Everyone looks great like you wanted, dad. The church is decorated too, and everyone you all invited is here. Take a breath, geez.”

Damien chuckles in spite of himself but inhales deeply all the same, slowly blowing the air out as he tightens his grip on Lucien’s arm. “Your father and I never got married, you know? This is… a first, for me. Robert’s already been married once, what if this wedding is worse than his first?”

“He got married in a courthouse with a witness they pulled off the street,” Lucien supplies helpfully, dragging his father up the steps. As they near the doors to the church, he speaks more quietly. “Literally everything is perfect, and you look–good, dad.”

“All thanks to your artistry,” Damien jokes and bumps his hip against Lucien’s, who immediately nudges him back.

“You taught me in the first place.”

“And you’ve cultivated those skills.”

They stand before the archway, doors opened, and just about the enter the church where everyone they know and love is waiting inside. All the other fathers and their kids in the cul-de-sac, Damien’s friends from work, old buddies, and whatever family they still had who could make it in. There’s an actual priest at the altar, and with him, there is Robert and both of their parties.

Before they step out, Damien turns to Lucien a final time, face contorted in worry. “This isn’t a mistake, is it, Lucien?”

They’ve been dating for nearly two years now. Lucien was there to hear about every date, phone call, and letter Robert sent. They even began celebrating holidays together, and the other would frequently come over for dinners. His presence was becoming a normal one in Lucien’s life, and he was surprised to realize he didn’t mind.

Of the fathers in the neighborhood, Robert has always been the coolest, without a doubt.

But he goes so far to reach out to Lucien, even when he won’t score brownie points with Damien because of it, and talks to him. He teaches the teen how to whittle wood, and sometimes they’ll hang out with just the two of them until Damien gets home.

Lucien likes Robert.

And he knows his father likes him far, far more.

He squeezes their arms together, and in a rare moment of tenderness where no one else can see them, Lucien steps forward to bump their foreheads together like Damien would do to him when he was a child. “Robert looks at you like you hung the moon and every star in the damn sky, dad.” Damien smiles sheepishly at the comment. “I don’t think he could be more in love with you if he tried, and I–”

Lucien licks his lips which are suddenly dry, and lifts his eyes to meet his father’s.

“I want him to stick around.”

The effect of his words is immediate. Damien’s smile drops for a second, stunned, before returning with tears brimming in his eyes. It’s too early in the wedding to cry, he wants to say, but doesn’t as his dad holds his face in his hands and bumps their noses together endearingly.

“Thank you, Lucien,” he whispers, and the teenager nods as they finally separate, joining their arms together.

Lucien stands straighter now as they step forward, and he walks his father down the aisle with unabashed, proud smiles on both of their faces.


	10. Lucien Gets Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "okay lucien was at his dads wedding, what if it was the other way around? "

****“I want you to be my best man.”

Damien nearly drops the entire tray he’s holding.

“Your… _what_?”

Lucien absentmindedly twirls the ring on his left hand, only occasionally glancing up at his father. “For my wedding–the one I told you about two weeks ago, remember?”

“Of course I remember!” It’s not every day Damien’s only son actually met someone and fell in love with them and moved in with them and oh, god, he sits down beside his son on the couch, turned slightly to face him. “I just don’t understand–why? Parents aren’t typically…”

“I know,” he mumbles, a trait that never left even after he grew out of his teenage years. It’s both endearing and irritating at the same time. “I was the best man at _your_ wedding, wasn’t I?”

“You’re my son! You’re the closest person to me, Lucien, and children typically… don’t harbor the same relationship with their parents. What about your friends?”

“They’re in the bridal party. I wanted you to be my best man.”

Lucien’s voice is so sure and without humor that Damien feels himself clam up. There’s no way he’s serious–not when their relationship was so… awkward for so many years.

It’s not that they have a bad relationship at all. Ever since Lucien graduated and moved out, they’d actually started becoming closer. Damien expected the boy to take off without a look back, and he was pleasantly surprised to find himself receiving calls, texts, and other updates regularly. They talk these days. Sometimes Lucien and his fiance come over for dinner.

But Damien never thought it would be enough for… this.

Perhaps he’s making a bigger deal out of it than he should. Maybe to Lucien, the position isn’t that big of a deal, even though it’d meant everything for Damien to have Lucien walk him down the aisle at his own wedding years ago.

“Son,” Damien says, placing a hand on his knee to get his attention, “if you feel like you have to repay me for having you be _my_ best man…”

“Goddammit, dad!” Lucien groans and rolls his eyes ever harder this time. He turns to fully face his father on the couch, but doesn’t move the hand from his leg. “My friends are important, yeah, but like… you’re the one who raised me for like, fucking twenty years, alone.”

“I had help the last few.”

“I like Robert, but he didn’t _raise_ me.”

Fair enough. Damien has seen the two get along, and though his new husband has a better chance than anyone else to step in as a father for Lucien, he isn’t at the moment. He still has Damien for that, however, and he’d be damned if he started slacking on his parental duties any time soon.

Still.

Lucien takes his father’s hand in his own and squeezes it, meeting his eye in a private stare that’s more open than any contact they ever had during his teenage years. He’s shaped up a lot these last couple of years, still awkward and snarky, but less rebellious and more caring. Damien couldn’t be more proud of him.

“It… was just you and me my whole life,” Lucien expands. “I never really… appreciated it for a long time, or I should’ve shown it more, but I love you, dad. And I wanted to thank you for raising me by yourself, even when I was a piece of shit.”

Oh, now Damien’s tearing up. “Language, Lucien,” he jokes with a smile, and Lucien laughs quietly.

“I don’t want anyone else by my side when I get married–no one means as much to me.”

He can’t take much more. Unable to hold himself back any longer, Damien lurches forward, wrapping his arms around his son who at some point grew much taller than him. He’s practically a giant, now. Lucien’s arms come up around his back to return the embrace, and Damien all but sobs into his shoulder.

Over twenty years ago, he decided to raise a child by himself, against all odds.

They’d fought so many times, had years where they couldn’t understand each other, and sometimes it felt like he was living with a stranger. Damien’s heart broke nearly every night as he tried to figure out what he had done wrong to lose his son’s trust, only to regain his affection soon enough.

There was no greater feeling than a hug or ‘love you’ from a rebellious son; to know after everything, he was still loved and cared for. Damien just prayed Lucien would someday understand all the sacrifices he’d made for him and know how much he was _loved_.

It turns out, he’d known all along.

When had his boy become so grown up?

“Thank you, Lucien,” he says softly, face buried in his son’s shoulder. “I would be _honored_.”

Lucien laughs at his father’s dramatic nature and hugs him tighter, enjoying the moment.


	11. Damien and Baby Lucien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i got like three diff requests for damien playing with his baby

****Damien thinks there’s something wrong with his baby.

It might be broken. And he doesn’t think there’s any baby return policies.

“Come on, Lucien!” Damien coos, holding out the stuffed bat in front of him and shaking it. It crinkles like a plastic bottle, and though The Internet said such things should fascinate a baby, his son stares at him in unamused boredom.

His heart is breaking with every passing second.

Lucien has been home for eight months now. He’s had no glaring issues, no big illnesses, no injuries, and no traumatic events. Damien’s been raising him perfectly for a single father--so why won’t his baby ever smile?

He lifts up the plushie and bounces it on the ground in front of him. “See the little bat, baby? Isn’t it cute? Please, oh god, please smile for daddy?”

The baby stares up at him and makes eye contact, but his face doesn’t move.

This infant is declaring war.

He tries just about everything in the book. Damien gently tosses him in the air with plane noises, makes a fool out of himself, blows raspberries on his tummy, everything. Peek-a-boo makes him feel like he’s being judged by his own eight month old.

None of the other neighbors in the cul-de-sac have any luck, either. Damien fears Brian might cry when Lucien doesn’t react to any of his Prime Future Dad Techniques, and the only person with children is Robert who simply commands Lucien to smile, receives a blank stare, and declares “I like the kid” before leaving.

He’s at his wit’s end.

His last attempt until he concedes he’s just a bad father is to make a nice dinner, though he isn’t even sure Lucien is capable of understanding ‘good’ taste as much as ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Damien sets the baby in his high chair, puts his hair up in a bun, and turns on the first playlist on his phone to listen to while cooking. Metal isn’t the most relaxing music, but it helps his nerves.

It’s some kind of healthy but still sweet and tastey fake recipe, the ones that use bananas instead of eggs that he’s never understood, but does anyways. There’s no telling if it’ll work, and deep down, he has a feeling it won’t.

This is his first time raising a child, and he’s all by himself to do it.

In the back of his mind, he can’t help but wonder if Lucien would be different if his ex had stuck around, but tries not to dwell on it. There isn’t any redos or going back on raising children--Lucien is the only thing he has in this new life and new town, and he’ll do anything he can to raise him right, even if he stumbles.

He wants Lucien to grow up into a kind young man, to talk with him, to find out what kind of person he’s going to become. Damien wants them to be friends when he’s older, and wants Lucien to know his father will always be on his side if nobody else is.

He want so many things for his son.

Damien finishes up the bowl of ‘improved’ mush, humming along to the music playing absentmindedly when he hears it.

A giggle.

He drops the dish immediately, and it splatters across his feet as he turns around quickly.

Lucien’s smiling.

He’s actually smiling, and his small hands bounce up and down gleefully.

When Damien realizes what’s changed, his brows shoot up his forehead in stunned surprise.

“You like _metal_?!”


	12. Heartbroken Lucien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If your ask box is still open what about damien having to deal with the aftermath of a broken hearted son?"

Damien is relieved when he hears the sound of the car pulling up in the driveway. It’s a bit later than the curfew he set for Lucien, and he’s prepared to lecture him sternly for making him worried as soon as he walks through the door. He waits on the couch, posed perfectly to make the ideal ‘strict father’ facade that he hopes will make Lucien respect his authority a little bit more.

And he waits.

And keeps waiting.

It takes ten minutes for Damien to realize that none of the doors in the house had opened, and unless Lucien planned on trying to sneak into his room (unsuccessful for the first time) he’s still outside. Probably trying to prepare his excuses-but not tonight. Damien’s _actually_ mad this time, and he won’t let Lucien continue to walk all over him.

Throwing his cloak over his shoulders, Damien stands and marches straight out the door. Sure enough, his car is parked in the driveway, and with it, he can make out Lucien’s form in the driver’s seat, sitting in the dark.

Damien is about to approach and give the teen what’s what when he realizes he’s completely hunched over in his seat. And visibly shaking. And if he were closer, Damien’s sure he would hear the rare sound of his son _crying_.

He returns inside without a second thought.

The routine he takes is only usually reserved for himself, but it can easily be modified for two. Damien sets a pot on the stove, and pulls out a number of ingredients that aren’t listed anywhere, simply memorized, and sets to work. Lucien’s already been out in the car for this long, he can tell he has at least a bit of time before the teen returns.

Sure enough, it takes ten more minutes before Lucien wanders back inside, careful to close the door behind him quietly. Damien can hear just the bare squeaking of the floorboards (not old, just added in for effect) as Lucien approaches the stairs, and he clears his throat loudly. “Lucien?” he asks, as if he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on already.

Half of his son’s face appears behind the doorway, mostly covered, and Damien’s heart sinks at what little he can see. The boy doesn’t do a good job at cleaning up, his face completely red, eyeliner smeared to the side, and his eyes bloodshot and puffy. Even so, he keeps his face indifferent. “Sorry, I’ll be home on time tomorrow,” he mutters and makes a move to duck for the stairs.

“Oh, Lucien? Will you come help me with this for a minute?” Damien catches his attention with a wave to the two mugs in front of him, and he can pick out the exact moment Lucien takes a whiff of the air and understands. “It appears I was clumsy and made too much cocoa for myself.”

Damien knows his son, and he knows his undeniable sweet tooth even better–especially after a bad day, cultivated by Damien’s inability to say no to anything for so long. Lucien appears to struggle with himself in the doorway, fidgeting nervously before he finally caves and enters the kitchen.

The rest of his face is just as bad, and closer now, Damien can see the bags under his eyes that weren’t there earlier today. He wants so badly to ask what ever could have happened, what would make his son react like this when so little would? But he holds back, remembering what it was like to be a teenager, and takes pride in the way he appears to relax after taking a sip from his mug and sits across from his father.

They sit in a not too uncomfortable silence, drinking quietly and not making eye contact in a very Bloodmarch family tradition. It’s so hard not to push, but Damien has to believe his son will open up if he wants to, even if his son really is a little shit. He still has a heart, and Damien knows that better than anyone.

“I–” Lucien starts, then cuts himself off. Damien nods, as they both know that with the first word broken, the ball’s in his court now. “…I saw a guy I like with somebody else today.”

He doesn’t look at his father while he speaks, but Damien feels his heart break all the same. He hadn’t even had the idea that his son had a crush on somebody, and although it isn’t surprising, he would’ve liked to know. “Were they kissing, or something?”

Lucien shakes his head. “I asked him to hang out today, and he said he was busy.”

“Couldn’t they still just be friends?”

“He said he was helping his mom all day.” Lucien takes a long, drawn out sip of his drink and finally turns to meet his father’s eye with an angry scowl. “And he definitely _wasn’t_ with his mom at the coffee shop. With some other guy.”

“Oh.” 

Damn, what a fucking prick.

“Damn, what a fucking prick.”

Lucien’s eyes widen three times their size at his father’s words, and while he might usually laugh at his dad cursing openly, now he leans forward across the table, still irritated. “Right? We’ve been texting for fucking weeks, and like, shit, I don’t get the whole emojis thing, but he uses them all the time, and sometimes the ones with hearts which Amanda says means something! We even went to a concert by ourselves last weekend!”

“You went to a concert last weekend?” Shit. Too much fathering. “How rude of him, I can’t believe he would lead you on like this!”

“You’re telling me,” Lucien grumbles, looking down as he pulls out his phone and begins scrolling through it quickly. “Check it out,” he says while passing the phone across the table. “Look at his damn hands.”

Damien looked at his damn hands. Sure enough, it was a picture of the back of some green haired youth holding hands with some indistinguishable prick. Prick? He must be, if he was causing Lucien to get this mad. “What a–” Quick, teen words, teen words! “Asshole.”

“A asshole indeed.” Lucien swipes back his phone and downs the rest of his cup by throwing it back, then slams it on the table. Damien will have to ask him where he learned that later, but keeps quiet as the anger seeps off of Lucien’s expression, replaced with something… melancholic. He leans his cheek into his palm and lets out a long sigh. “I thought something was, like, you know… happening.”

Damien smiles bitterly, reaching across the table to grab Lucien’s other hand. Surprisingly, he doesn’t even flinch. This is the first time Lucien’s genuinely opened up to him in a long time, maybe even over a year, and Damien doesn’t want to mess this up. He’s got one good chance to keep his son’s trust, and it’s so delicate, so easy to break and lose it all at once.

“You’ve got two options, son; talk to him, honestly,” Lucien rolls his eyes and Damien squeezes his hand, “ _honestly_ , and consider working things out if he truly means that much to you, and you truly want this to work out.”

“And the other?”

“I can pay Robert to sit outside his house and scare the shit out of him.”

Lucien laughs, easily and openly, and Damien can’t help but join in.

“Thanks, dad.”

**Author's Note:**

> these are all tumblr requests, send some in if you'd like over at [ludella](ludella.tumblr.com)  
> or just come hang out and talk about the bloodmarch family.


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